Project Zomboid: 9 Best Features Coming In Build 42

Project Zomboid fans have been waiting patiently for build 42, which promises a slew of excellent features that will improve the game. Usually, players are excited about new updates as they add new content and a few QoL fixes, but build 42 can be considered a game overhaul.

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Build 42 will bring engine upgrades, a reworked crafting system, the addition of animals, farming improvements, and lots of game polish. The modding community is also excited as they will have new content to make excellent mods with. There are lots of features coming in build 42, but this list will only cover the most interesting ones.

9 Animals

What’s New: Wild & Farm Animals

Single-player worlds can get hauntingly lonely as players have no companions, aside from zombies. While build 42 does not add NPCs, having animals keep players company will alleviate the feeling of isolation. The animals will also increase the diversity of food options by allowing players to obtain fresh eggs, milk, and meat.

The animals will range from domestic farm animals such as sheep and chickens to wild animals like deer. Animals must be tracked by their paw prints or droppings to find them. Animals will give lots of character to player builds by having populated pens next to their base.

8 Farming

What’s New: More Crops, QoL Changes & Growing Seasons

Currently, farming in Project Zomboid is basic compared to many other farming simulator games and will receive a significant upgrade in build 42. Farming players will now have to add regular weeding to their crops and worry about slugs and snails in their gardens. With the introduction of animals, players can use chickens to handle a slug invasion.

Some logical features are added including the ability to plant potatoes by just using a potato, removing the need for constantly needing potato seeds. Growing seasons will be added and planting crops outside of their optimal season will result in a reduced harvest.

7 New Heights

What’s New: Skyscrapers

Thanks to the engine upgrade, Project Zomboid will now be capable of new possibilities due to improved optimization. This improvement will vastly increase the limits of buildings and give shockingly large buildings that would totally transform the landscape.

A skyscraper filled with zombies sounds exciting, but be sure to grab the best guns before exploring one of these buildings. Be sure to remember the way out as a 32-floor skyscraper can become confusing to navigate.

6 Map Changes

What’s New: New Towns, Remote Areas & Basements

Knox Country is already overwhelmingly large for new players to fully explore, but older players will be overjoyed with the addition of new areas in build 42. The map will receive three new towns and several smaller areas of interest to add more life to Knox Country.

The new towns will be less dense than Louisville and will come with many unique areas to explore. The new areas will add new unique vehicles that are town-specific, giving players something rare to collect from each area. Buildings will have basements added, giving players a safe area to store even more of their valuable loot.

5 Crafting System Upgrade

What’s New: Blacksmithing, Drying Rack, Mill & Primitive Crafting

Crafting workshop player with work stations

The crafting system is getting an overhaul in build 42. Weapons will have separate durability for the handle and weapon head and a sharpness indicator that will need occasional topping off at a whetstone. New crafting methods will be added, which introduce metal forging, stoneworking, pottery, and breweries.

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Players can now craft new workstations, including a drying rack, a quern-stone, and a mill. A tree stump and workspace boulder will naturally spawn, which gives access to primitive crafting. Blacksmithing will be added, which will be used to craft higher-quality melee weapons, such as spears.

4 Dynamic Background Music

What’s New: Dynamic Exploration Music

Build 41 added dynamic action music that plays while fighting zombies, and it does an excellent job of ramping up the game’s intensity. Build 42 aims to add dynamic music outside of combat, as players aren’t fighting zeds most of the time.

This new change will give Project Zomboid more life during the less active moments when players quietly explore areas and loot. Timed exploration music is a staple of many games and will now be added to Project Zomboid.

3 New Wilderness

Build 42 has a surprise for wilderness players. The game will feature a new mode that will generate a map consisting of a complete wilderness without any towns or roads. This change will also replace the black borders surrounding the map with a large wilderness to explore.

The wilderness will have procedural generation and will result in more outdoor diversity. Be sure not to get too relaxed in the great outdoors as the threat of zombies is always looming around the bushes.

2 Visual & Engine Changes

What’s New: Lighting Upgrade & Performance Improvements

The aesthetics of Project Zomboid are far from its strongest selling point, as the game matches The Sims 1, which was released in 2000. The lighting system is receiving an upgrade that will allow light to bounce off walls, blend better through doors, and shine through windows.

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A new rendering system will rework the game to improve performance while also looking better. Players who have performance issues with Project Zomboid might want to give it another try after this update.

1 Character Voices

What’s New: 8 Voice Types

Gamers will no longer play as a stereotypical silent protagonist as build 42 adds player voices. During character creation, players will have 8 voices to pick from and these can be heard during gameplay actions. The gameplay actions vary from swinging weapons to panting.

Coughs and sneezes will now emit noise, as well as the preset character yells. The character will no longer be mute while swinging a massive sledgehammer. While this is a small change, it all builds up to increase the immersion of Project Zomboid.